Truly, Thank you. (END OF FIRST VOLUME)

Chapter 46: Truly, Thank you.

"Sorry…?" Franz's lips twitched for an instant.

Although he tried his best to stifle his shock, it wasn't enough.

Had Gray not expected this emotion to stem from him, he wouldn't have noticed, instead brushing it off just as soon as having seen it.

But now that his focus was heightened to perceive such subtle change, he could see through it all.

His bizarre reaction meant his hypothesis was wholly correct! Just as he expected, this 'gift' The Monolith had given him was in the form of a Fragment!

Franz Kaldiri stared deep inside Gray's obscure eyes, his shock evident in his mind.

'He knows…?! It can't be!'

'How did he gain such crucial information? Casanova is not the type to leak such knowledge recklessly; did his Secondary Mercurial Fragment give him this kinds of information? Did he instead figure it out on his own…?'

'He's barely a newly formed Nephilim, but the fact that he's an Onironaut makes the quintessence inside his system to be rather poor; yet, since he could move around the illusory moonlight expelled by Selene, this means that he has surpassed the minimum amount of quintessence to not feel its effects.'

'Because of this smaller, imperceptible amount, he shouldn't be able to feel the quintessence be formed by his Mercurial Fragments…'

'And also, from what I've seen inside his soul's domain, the Pitch-Black Fragment seemed mostly unresponsive, only to reactivate and unravel just as soon as I gazed unto it.'

'Therefore, since his Secondary Mercury Fragment doesn't pump quintessence into his system passively, unlike his Silvery One, there shouldn't be any way for him to know…!'

'But because the Pitch-Black Fragment is mostly unresponsive, He shouldn't be able to send him messages.'

'That is unless, after Gray called upon Genesis, He awakened, sending him a message during that moment!'

'Yet why didn't Gray tell me this? Does he has secrets to hide?'

Franz laughed bitterly in his heart.

'What Nephilim doesn't have his secrets. The rather naïve Gray I knew is slowly fading. Like a cicada, his skin is slowly molting, making way for something 'else.''

'Still, if He truly wanted to inform Gray about his Secondary Mercurial Fragment, I suppose that he wouldn't want Gray to speak about it so suddenly.'

'The hypothesis of His message should be untrue, then.'

'Therefore, since he decided to speak about his condition so abruptly, it means that he himself isn't aware of all details, prompting him to talk about this with me, one who can see beyond all's understandings!'

'Did Casanova give him an hint about my ability?' he sighed inwardly. 'I suppose he too didn't think that Gray would figure about it so quickly.'

'Since he's aware of what my ability does, he should also know about me and Casanova's little suitcase masquerade.'

Casanova and Franz had decided to put this act together so that Franz could inspect the bizarre activities belonging to his Mercurial Fragment!

'If I'm properly rating his intellect, he should've already figured Casanova's underlying decision to talk about our store, Mnemosyne's Antiques…'

'To think that his intellect has improved so dramatically!'

Gray mused, the smile on his face subtle,

'By now he should understand that lying won't help.'

'Since he asked me earlier if I have ever heard dreadful messages coming from a Patron Bearer, I can figure that he has seen something horrifically wrong inside my Fragment—something impossibly intelligent, with a conscience of Its own.'

'Thus,' the smile on his face faded as his brows furrowed.

'…What I have as a Fragment could very well be The Monolith Himself.'

His pupils shrunk.

'I can understand of why Franz thought He was my Patron.'

Calming himself down, he forced his mind to look at the bright side.

'If what I have as a Fragment is truly an 'Him,' one whose pronouns cannot be paired with humanity, at least now Casanova and Franz know without my need to utter of The Monolith's name.'

This was one of his biggest concerns, so it could at least be erased for the moment.

Franz shifted in place, his expression gradually becoming less tense. "Forgive us."

"We did it for your sake."

Gray waved his apologies away, for he himself hypothesized such reasons. If Casanova hid something from him, the most probable explanation was the need for Gray's safety.

He just couldn't hold them accountable for their silence, especially after everything they had done for him.

His previous accusations were only a masquerade, a means for Franz to not dismiss his words aside.

Sometimes, to be heard, people just had to hold their foot down.

"How much do you know?" Franz asked.

Gray sighed inwardly. "Not enough."

He obviously couldn't explain The Monolith to them.

While he wasn't sure if speaking about Him while evading the aspect of His name would make the end of the world follow quick after, he just couldn't test the odds—especially now that Genesis had been drained completely.

If he decided to utter His name right there, he couldn't witness a revelation that would make him think twice about doing so—in short, he couldn't test the waters.

Staying silent was truly his best option.

Just as he thought that, he realized a crucial factS

After seeing Gray's Mercurial Fragment, Franz Kaldiri had definitely informed Casanova about it—therefore, there was a way to speak about Him while avoiding His curse!

'The situation isn't completely hopeless…!' he sighed in his heart.

Gray explained of how he understood that this Secondary Fragment was the reason for Genesis' ability to descend upon the real-world, granting him the opportunity to gain revelations instantly, without the need to unravel any kind of symbolism.

Right there, a sudden question popped into his mind.

Could this mean that what he had seen in his and Nekare's future was bound to happen…?

As he had more pressing concerns to tend to, he quickly stopped thinking about this matter.

He then spoke of his Second Fragment's ability of Its own.

The temporary name of this ability was—Replication.

While the rules and further details weren't completely clear, it was a really viable way to correct his inherent shortcomings in physical combat.

For now, his arsenal was composed by Intra, Genesis, Replication, and Desensitization.

While Genesis and Desensitization were interlinked, as Desensitization would activate just as soon after he experienced traumatic events, it still was part of the building blocks towards a safer future.

Genesis still had a limit over its prophecies, yet it was still a giant's leap compared to the things Gray could do before.

While he couldn't call upon it for now, he had to train the bounds of his newly-awakened ability carefully in the future.

…Although it was difficult.

To activate it, one needed to be in a deadly situation, after all.

Franz then talked of how he had traveled inside Gray's soul domain, aided by his sight, apologizing profusely for breaking his privacy.

Gray dismissed his apologies again, asking him to explain of it looked like out of pure curiosity.

After hearing about the presence of amalgamation of shadows, Gray stayed quiet for some moments.

But after Franz explained that it was common for a soul's domain to be formed by a person's experiences, past events, and memories, Gray felt his worries quickly wash away.

He also could feel his knowledge improve massively. They conversation they were having was fruitful, extremely so!

As Franz spoke of how his Secondary Mercurial Fragment acted, Gray was deeply shaken, for he felt that this behavior resembled The Monolith very closely.

'His jagged tendrils can instill me with the power to gain real-world revelations. So this is why I kept on feeling those pangs of pain…'

'My Silvery Fragment can't be affected by His pressure many times, then. Thus, this acts as a limit for Genesis.'

While he was curious to know of how his mother could break his inability to tap into the true power of Genesis, he didn't have any clear leads.

Instead he smiled softly, thanking her inside his heart.

He had one question however: Why did his Fragment activate so suddenly? Was it because of Franz's intrusion?

Naturally, nobody would want a thief to enter their house. It wasn't unnatural to think that He would forbid someone from doing so.

As Franz Kaldiri chuckled, reminiscing of how he had almost let Gray get away without having pried into his Fragment, Gray felt of having forgotten something.

Just as the Nephilim ended his speech, speaking of how Gray's act of cutting the connection off by closing the door, he suddenly understood!

What he couldn't remember was the feeling of being watched!

After Gray had his soul examined by Franz, he felt the same old feeling of having his soul be gazed by an unknown being!

Therefore, if someone watched his Secondary Mercurial Fragment, by unknown methods, Gray would undoubtedly perceive it.

This also matched with Casanova's words.

He had said that the Nephilim were highly perceptive towards the supernatural, therefore, they were more prone into catching its signals.

Could this mean that every time Gray had this feeling it was because 'something' or 'someone' was gazing upon his soul?

It didn't seem right.

Franz Kaldiri had been injured by Him; there would be no reason for Him to be lenient to other beings.

Thus, they would definitely receive the same treatment.

This crucial fact made the chances of his quick hypothesis to be highly unlikely.

Right there, after the two stopped on talking about Him, they returned to speak about what Gray had faced against Selene and the multi-faced being.

"You even entered inside the dead-world of a deity?!" Franz blurted out, shocked.

"Yeah." Gray half-closed his eyes.

Although Ophelia had healed his injuries, he could feel his body almost slip into a coma.

He also was hungry, extremely hungry.

"I apologize." Franz sighed. "My inherent curiosity is starting to get too overwhelming for you."

Gray opened his eyes and quickly mumbled an half-assed response, speaking of how it wasn't a big deal for him.

The knowledge he was gaining was tremendously valuable, he simply couldn't let this chance to acquire more information slip away!

Franz chuckled, amused, and kept on listening attentively to Gray's almost slurred speech.

While he spoke of the Sult-Hurni's defeat, he preferred to avoid talking about his mutilation.

The act he'd done made him feel…dirty.

And as he was about to utter the events of his last prophecy, Gray's heart slowly sank while the memoirs of those fuzzy events replayed.

"Do you know where the veil of Dreams and Reality ends?" the Sult-Hurni said, his emptied sockets staring back at Gray.

"Do you know that His real name is…"

Shrrriek!

A sharp, striduling sound pierced his mind, forbidding him to recall the moon god Sin's true name!

Gray's lips twitched.

He tried to recall of the events that happened after—he tried to recall of how he had left that dimension, but as for his past forgotten memories, those same, hideous amalgamation of shadows covered this memoir fully, not allowing him to pry open its mysteries.

"I…" Gray mumbled, staring blankly at Ophelia's room. "I cannot remember…?"

'Was it a…Was it a name, His name…?' he thought. 'Then pain succeeded, tons of pain…! My own body had stopped responding, but then? What happened after?'

This time, however, he did not reveal these events.

Revealing everything was too naïve.

If Franz knew that he had heard the true name of a divinity and also saw its true form, although Gray himself had already forgotten about it, it would bring even more questions.

Franz stared in silence, asking himself if Sin's descent ritual had truly been interrupted by Gray or by other external factors.

As he couldn't possibly figure the truth lying underneath Gray, he decided to postpone this matter.

Franz gestured for him not to worry. "You need to be well rested and fed; you also went through unimaginable stress, it's not unnatural for you to be slightly forgetful."

He then held his hand forward. "Can you walk?"

Gray naturally asked of why he had asked this question, and Franz soon followed up, saying that he was bringing the boy home.

Gray was initially unwilling, but after Franz's gentle pressuring for his well-being, he accepted, but only at one cost—the information of how Selene's abilities worked!

…

Franz's hands held the steering wheel as he calmly drove towards the young man's house. Since the Nephilim had saved Gray's life, he felt that he was someone he could gruly trust.

Therefore, he wasn't unwilling in telling him about where he lived.

In the back-seat, Gray slept peacefully, his body slumped over. This time, however, Selene wasn't present; Franz had decided to let her stay at Ophelia's house, so she too, could rest.

Letting her stay so close to Gray, especially after she had tried to kill him wasn't right; when the two were inside the car was only because there wasn't any other choice.

Before the newly turned Nephilim had fallen asleep, Franz apologized once again, telling Gray that if he didn't want to, he could avoid working with him at Menmosyne's Antiques.

Gray refused, however.

Although he forgot what he had witnessed after the Sult-Hurni muttered His name, he felt uncharacteristically confident that He would not bother him again.

Because of this instinctual feeling, he felt that if needed, he could resist against Selene through the aid of Desensitization, Genesis, Replication, and Franz's information about her powers!

…

As Franz reached the neighborhood where Gray lived, he gently nudged him, and soon after, Gray jolted awake.

The crescent moon hung over the firmament, thousand upon thousands of stars shimmered delicately, their light draping over the horizon.

Seeing that it was dark outside, he quickly thanked Franz for everything, and left his car.

He quickly walked over the three small steps that connected to his house and produced a key from his pocket, the sharp jingling of his keys sounding continuously.

Taking a deep breath, he gently opened the door, the light of the interior shining on his face.

Kathy stood in the living room, her back turned towards Gray.

As she heard the door opening noise, she slowly turned around, her soft smile glimmering, reflecting inside Gray's eyes.

"Welcome home." she warmly said, her gentle voice wrapping around him like a warm blanket after a night of chilling snow.

Just now, after more than a decade of pain, Gray saw just how much she looked like his late mother. He smiled bitterly, not knowing that what he had searched and longed all along had always been next to him.

He wordlessly walked forward, embracing Kathy into a tight hug. Kathy was initially surprised, yet she embraced him back.

The two silently held each-other for what seemed like hours. They did not utter anything, for there was nothing to utter.

Like of how his mother cradled him when young, this too, was a way to cradle his mother back.

In the past, Gray had unwillingly been bitter towards her for leaving only her library.

The material possession wasn't what he wanted—it was her the only one he needed.

"I missed you." he whispered after a long silence.

Kathy did not reply with one of her usual snarky comments; instead, she echoed his words.

"I missed you too."

Gray instantly understood that everything he went through was worth it, for all the pain he had experienced, every single moment of suffering, had allowed him to embrace Kathy, allowing him to see her gentle smile once again.

Like of how Prometheus would've went through his plans again and again, to see the genealogy of his son succeed, had Gray been sent into the past, he would've underwent towards the same path of endless pain, endless suffering that he himself had forgotten.

Death after death, pain after pain, he only had one thing in mind.

It was Kathy's safety.

He opened his eyes, and the faint, image of his smiling mother slowly manifested, a smile etched on her beautiful face.

"Thank you, Mom." he muttered. "Thank you for not giving up on me."

She chuckled lightly, covering her mouth with her hand, the wrinkles underneath her eyes showing.

After a brief moment of her meaningful gaze, after an unseen 'Mother's Embrace,' she faded away.

Her greatest gift, the greatest legacy she could leave to him wasn't only a library.

The most precious and valuable work she had given to Gray was her daughter, Kathy.

Because of this simple fact, Gray only knew one thing.

He had to protect her, no matter the cost, no matter the circumstances; for when one gains all, he has to fight tooth and nail to not let anyone take it away from him.

And even if he lost his sanity; even if he lost every sense of self; like an unwavering, eternal Monolith, this determination of his would be endless, never to be lost.

This was his humanity.

It had always been so, and always would be.

(End of the First Volume—Genesis)